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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Deep Roots Like a Stubborn Weed

"I would like to be known as a Christian….not a homeschooler." Came the quiet, gentle reply.

Last November, I stumbled onto a video posted online. Troubled by what I heard, an email was sent out to a couple of friends asking for their thoughts. My first thought after watching the video? And we wonder why homeschoolers get a bad rap! Homeschoolers are walking away from carrying the torch of homeschooling is the gist of the video. It equates the decline of homeschoolers teaching their children at home with the statistic by Barna Research: 80% of churchgoing teens will leave the Christian faith by their 29th birthdays.

First, I personally believe school at home isn’t for everyone. However, one might prayerfully consider this option along with the option to send their children to public or private school. Being obedient to God whichever option He leads a family…not just blindly following the crowd. Just as I don’t want others judging me for teaching at home, I don’t want to judge those who do not.

I am not foolish enough to believe our children will school their children at home. It is a personal decision between God, our children and spouses. I want our children to hear the Shepherd’s voice and obey, no matter my opinion. I refuse to get in the way of them hearing God’s leading. Just because the parents are convicted to school at home, doesn’t mean the children will have the same conviction.

Now, let’s address the 80% walking away from faith. I heard this troublesome statistic a year or two ago. Frankly, it scares me. Are our roots of faith not grounded deep enough so when the storms of life come we topple over? Have we become so desensitized to what is around us that we become toads in the water? Put a toad in water and slowly turn up the heat and before the toad realizes it, the water is boiling. The “world” can creep into our lives so slowly; we do not realize we are creeping closer to the world view instead of the Christian view. I’m not talking legalistic things, I’m talking core values. Knowing the Barna Research statistic convicts me to pray for our children even more.

We, as parents, have enough to deal with. Our children will have times of doubt, questioning and frustration. But if our children are rooted deeply in the saving soil of Christ, then the little and big storms of life will still find them grounded deeply. Let’s join together praying our children have roots like the deep, stubborn weeds we can’t seem to get out of our garden!!! ☺